Harry
Connick, Jr. states that he’s harry for the holidays with the title of
this seasonal release, and if you take into consideration that this
album was probably recorded on some sunny summer day in July, far away
from the noises of annoying relatives and greedy little kids, who can
really doubt him? Instead of having a throng of cousins, aunts, uncles
and kiddies clinging to his winter coat, Mr. Connick has gathered
together a large band of musicians in order to create one swinging
Christmas bash on Harry For the Holidays.

Much as with human weight limitations for adults using
playground swing-sets, some items here fit into the swing of things, so
to speak, better than others. For instance, “Frosty The Snowman,” with
its fast horn jazz instrumentation and Cab Calloway-inspired
call-and-response vocal arrangement, works a lot better than serious
musical slices like “I Wonder As I Wander” or “Nature Boy.” Similar to
most holiday releases, this set of songs is mainly comprised of
familiar music. Nevertheless, Connick, Jr. still leaves his mark with a
few new songs of his own.

Connick’s self-penned “The Happy Elf,” for example, brings a little joy
to the workplace, as he sings and plays up a storm. “I Come With Love,”
on the other hand, is a serious ballad that digs into the conflicted
emotions of Mary and Joseph on that first Christmas night. Here, as
with so many of Connick, Jr.’s ballads, he reaches for his best Frank
Sinatra impression. On “I’m Gonna Be The First One,” he returns to a
lighter, more swinging touch, and his voice this time sounds
endearingly like Mel Torme, rather than Old Blue Eyes.

Although the majority of this album’s tracks hark back to those old
Capitol Records days -- back when artists like Sinatra (and many
others) took the Nelson Riddle full orchestral approach to seasonal
songs -- there are a few notable exceptions on this release. “This
Christmas,” which was written by soulster Donny Hathaway (along with
Nadine McKinnor), has a really nice Philly soul feel to it, especially
because of its backing vocal choir and string section. But even more
unusual than that is one called “Nothin’ New For New Year,” which is
also a song written by Connick, Jr. For this particular track, the
artist traded in his extra large instrumental gang for a combo
featuring minimal piano, bass, guitar and drums. And let’s not forget
the pedal steel part and presence of country legend George Jones here,
either. That’s right, boys and girls: this sad one is a teary-eyed duet
with “No Show” Jones himself. Although Connick, Jr. will never convince
anybody that he, the consummate urbanite, could ever be a legitimate
chap ‘n’ hat-wearing cowpoke, this experiment somehow still works. He
closes the album with an extra-bluesy version of “Silent Night,” which
is highlighted by Leroy Jones’ sweetly warm trumpet solo.

Harry For the Holidays begins as a loose and jazzy office holiday
party, and then ends with a few eclectic musical notes. It’s like
somebody who started with the idea of decorating the Christmas tree
with just a few choice matching colors, then just turned it all into an
anything goes mishmash. It may not follow an exact prescribed theme,
but it sure feels like home. So while this one might not exactly be the
perfect replica of your father’s favorite jazz-pop Christmas album,
it’s nevertheless a stocking full of gifts that will please fathers and
sons alike.